TiVo Buffer Recording Behavior

supersportsfan · 11-07-2009, 12:23 PM

OK, first off, maybe I am doing something completely wrong and my rant is pointless. If so, please tell me how I can correct this! Otherwise...

The one this about the entire TiVo interface that I can say TRULY annoys me is it's behavior when recording from the buffer. There is no simple rhyme or reason for what it does sometimes...it just does it.

For example, this morning, I turned my TV on to see a program that I might want to watch at another time. It was four minutes in. I always am fooling with stuff to try to fix this issues, so instead of simply pushing record (seeing as this is often when you get the big chunk of stuff from before the intended show) I popped up the guide, and hit record on the show in the guide. Low and behold, I go back to live TV (the show now recording) and it says 54 minutes...WTF?! So not only did it record the entire buffer, but it went over 20 minutes back, as well.

This is my biggest gripe...the fact that you never know what Tivo is going to do when it comes to recording the buffer. Sometimes, I will be watching something near the beginning of the buffer and think, oh man, I would like to record this showing (about 12 minutes of it is already gone from the buffer, however.) So I hit record, thinking, "man, maybe this odd Tivo behavior will actually be helpful this time!" Guess what? It only goes back about 7 minutes...

I wish TiVo would just put in the option (when you hit record in the buffer) to record the buffer, or record the current program. It would be SO much easier that way. Yes, sometimes I do want to record the buffer, but other times, I am mad when I am watching a program that has recently started, and hit the record button, only to see that I get the correct show title, but 15 minutes of the previous program in my recording as well...

bkdtv · 11-07-2009, 12:57 PM

There could be bug that causes guide recordings of a liveTV program to save more of the buffer than intended. If there is such a bug, I'm not aware of it.

TiVo buffers in the form of segments. The length of the video in a buffer segment will vary depending on the bitrate (bandwidth) of the channel. A buffer segment might include 10 minutes worth of video for one high-bitrate HD channel and 15 minutes of video for a low-bitrate HD channel.

When you click record on a liveTV program, TiVo saves all buffer segments together beginning with the one that included the program start time. If the segment with the program start time also included 10 minutes of the prior program, then that is included as part of the recording. When you go to play the recording from the NPL, it starts playing from the program start time, even if that is 10 minutes into the recording.

I've never seen 50 minutes added to a new program, but 4-5 minutes is typical, and 10-15 minutes is not uncommon. Note, however, that when you play the recording from the NPL, it starts from the right spot.

As to how the TiVo buffer is able to exceed 30 minutes.... TiVo reserves buffer space for 30 minutes of maximum bitrate HD (19.4Mbps), but many programs use a much lower bitrate. A lower bitrate translates to more recording time in the same space. Thus, when you click record during the middle of a sports event, you may see 40-50 minutes of the event saved rather than 30 minutes. For liveTV viewing, TiVo restricts the the UI to a 30 minute buffer for consistency's sake; users might be confused by a 30 minute buffer on some programs and a 45 minute buffer on others.

steve614 · 11-07-2009, 01:00 PM

I think this is just "how it works".
The last time I recorded a show from the buffer, it included 20 min of the previous show.
But the Tivo is smart enough that when you play that recording from the NPL, it starts playing the recording at the point where the show starts - not the beginning of the recording.

Edit: What bkdtv said.

supersportsfan · 11-07-2009, 03:08 PM

Interesting...I guess I have never noticed it starts at the right spot. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks for the info.

pdhenry · 11-07-2009, 03:21 PM

Yeah, I was watching a CBS Sunday night show and a couple of minutes in decided to reciod it. Since it started late I used the guide and added padding at the end. I was surprised (and a bit confused) when it included material before the scheduled beginning of the program.

mattack · 11-09-2009, 10:07 PM

Yeah, minorly annoying.. (There are MUCH bigger problems to fix/improve on Tivo first IMHO). Since previously I recorded most stuff on my analog-only Tivos, I basically always chose 'basic' from the SP and other options (so it would only record from NOW on, not include any of the buffer).

But now twice I've recorded a show in progress and gotten this. Last night's example, for a half an hour program, I got I think 25 minutes of the previous show too -- it was only a few minutes in when I decided to record it.

aaronwt · 11-10-2009, 11:24 AM

I don't care how much is added before a show as long as the whole show is there. Better to have too much time than not enough.

steve614 · 11-10-2009, 12:38 PM

Don't count on having an entire 1 hour show if you start the recording too late.

As a test, I started recording a 1 hour show 50 minutes in and only got 40 minutes total.
Next I'll see if an entire show is saved starting 40 minutes in.

pdhenry · 11-10-2009, 07:11 PM

You will lose anything more than 30 minutes back from the time you hit Record since there's only a 30 minute buffer.

aaronwt · 11-10-2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve614

Don't count on having an entire 1 hour show if you start the recording too late.

As a test, I started recording a 1 hour show 50 minutes in and only got 40 minutes total.
Next I'll see if an entire show is saved starting 40 minutes in.

I only expect 30 minutes. If there actually is more then that is great, but I don't expect it.